Christmas cookies (and other Advent fun)

I have fantastic memories of being a kid and making Christmas cookies with Mom and my siblings each year. More than once Mom hosted a cookie decorating party for friends and we held marathon baking sessions to get ready. Picture our entire table covered with flour and cookie dough, and four children sticking their fingers and elbows in it as we all tried to "help". Poor Mom! :)

Well, yesterday I decided to continue the tradition with Jonathan. We mixed up a batch of sugar cookie dough (the same recipe that my Mom used all those years ago!) The best part, of course, was licking the beaters.



We assembled all our supplies at the table,


rolled out our dough, stuck our fingers and elbows into it, and succeeded in cutting out cookies! Jonathan placed the cookie cutters on the dough, I lifted them onto the cookie sheets, and he sprinkled the colored sugar. Such concentration!


We even managed to be cleaned up and ready for our guests by 11am, thanks to Jonathan's excited assistance picking up toys while I cleaned up cookie flour. Yesterday was our Annual Get-Ready-For-Christmas party - everyone comes and brings Christmas cards to write or address or whatever they need to do to get ready for Christmas. The children play (mostly!) with each other and we grown-ups get to do boring tasks while

One of the best things about having kids, I'm discovering, is getting to remember and recreate bits of your own childhood. Jonathan is old enough to get really excited about all things Christmas this year, and I'm nearly as excited as he is, because I get to see it all through his eyes.

Here are a few more shots from our Advent activities:



Jonathan continues to amaze me as he moves from being a toddler to becoming a preschooler. Who knew that he'd sit for so long and paint? And ask to do it again a few hours later?